The improved female villains regained their memories.

The capital city sits at the center of the world, where spiritual energy gathers. Although the demon race doesn't need spiritual energy, they share the same origin as the Dao, and with the help of spiritual energy, their cultivation will undoubtedly be much faster. Take the eagle for example; after half a lifetime of cultivation, its strength is only at the Celestial Immortal realm of cultivators, and even then, it's the weakest kind of Celestial Immortal.

If the Emperor agrees to move all the demon races here, it would be an immense blessing. Throughout history, no demon race has ever enjoyed the benefits of human supremacy so closely. In the eyes of humans, demons are either servants or materials; there is no such thing as equality, let alone living in the inner city.

If the eagle agrees, then its descendants will have no worries.

Guan Hongyi's offer of such terms truly demonstrates his sincerity.

"Is what you're saying true?" the eagle asked incredulously.

Guan Hongyi looked into its eyes and said, word by word, "I, Guan Hongyi, swear to Heaven that I am not lying."

The eagle fell silent.

The wind blew in from the window, causing his black clothes to flutter. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Guan Hongyi, but his thoughts drifted to Su Murong.

At that time, it left the Demon Alliance and went to the north to find Balhu to cooperate with, hoping to fight against the great enemy Yan Kingdom together. However, Balhu was defeated and committed suicide in the Beiluo River. It desperately fled, but unexpectedly fell into the hands of Su Murong.

Demon cores are not only coveted by cultivators, but also precious materials for spirit talisman masters. Su Murong is a popular talisman-drawing artist, but it's hard to guarantee she won't be interested in demon cores, so the eagle that fell into her hands was naturally very worried.

Unexpectedly, Su Murong released it and asked it for advice, because she had heard before the battle that the eagle had given Barhu a very good strategy, but Barhu did not adopt it and therefore suffered a great defeat.

Su Murong said sincerely, "If Bargu hadn't ignored your advice, I would be the one in prison now."

The human and the demon talked all night long. The eagle was surprised by Su Murong's age; he was just a little kid, yet he could understand many of what the eagle was saying. Su Murong could understand many principles that were impossible to explain to Balhu and other demons!

The eagle couldn't help but sigh, "This little guy is truly a gift from God."

The night was long and filled with stars. A human and a demon stood on a sandy slope, gazing into the distance.

The eagle perched on Su Murong's shoulder and said, "Little brat, I have to admit that it is not easy for you to have such achievements and knowledge at such a young age. But don't be complacent. You have just defeated the barbarians, and this is the most dangerous time for you."

Su Murong laughed heartily, stroking the eagle's feathers, and said, "What are barbarians? I, Su Murong, will do something with great ambition!"

She pointed into the distance and said loudly:

"I want to build a house as big as heaven and earth, so that all the poor people in the world can live in it, whether they are human or demon, I want them all to live in it!"

Looking at the starry sky, she was filled with heroic spirit and recited aloud:

"Suddenly a madman sharpened his knife at night, and the imperial star swayed and Mars rose high."

Wealth and poverty are ordained by Heaven; even a mortal dares to usurp the throne.

The eagle still remembers Su Murong from that time; she was so steadfast and unwavering.

Therefore, it firmly said to Guan Hongyi:

"I'm sorry, I refuse."

Chapter 162 Fanatical Believers

The eagle refused, which, to be honest, was not unexpected by Guan Hongyi.

To her surprise, the eagle refused so quickly.

She had thought that the other party would at least try to reason with her or play along, but in the end, the other party rejected her cleanly and decisively.

Guan Hongyi was silent for a moment, then said, "Your identity has been exposed. If you refuse me, you will really have no way out. It's only a matter of time before they find your true identity."

“You should know my character. I swear in my father’s name that I will protect you. You don’t need to be in such a hurry to die. Su Murong is just a shameless brat. She’s not worth you risking your life for her.”

The eagle scoffed disdainfully: "Shameless? Not worth it? What narrow-minded views, what arrogant words! Yes, Guan Hongyi, you come from a noble family, you have your father's reputation, you have your family to vouch for you, and even now, His Majesty the Emperor, who sits high in the sky, has entrusted you with an important task. But Guan Hongyi, in my heart, you will never be as good as that person!"

"You, all of you in the Yan Kingdom, are no match for Lord Su Murong!"

"Back in the Northern Territory, I witnessed Lady Su Murong defeat the barbarian army with her popularity talisman. Originally a mortal, she created a brand new popularity system and single-handedly reversed the fact that ordinary people were invincible in front of the witch god."

"The decline of spiritual energy has also affected the demon race. I am exceptionally talented and have devoted half my life to achieving such cultivation. However, Lord Su Murong, with the body of a mortal, directly destroyed the barbarian's army of witch gods. Moreover, it wasn't just her, but her and all the soldiers under her command!"

"Her talent, her ability, her comprehension—these are gifts from heaven! Many of the principles I share with others can only be understood by Lord Su Murong. From the moment I saw Lord Su Murong's popularity talisman, I firmly believed that she is not an ordinary person like you!"

"Just as I expected!"

"Lady Su Murong revealed to me her ambition to conquer the world and formulated all her strategic plans. You all say she is shameless and ungrateful, but what can you do about her? No! Lady Su Murong's shamelessness, her audacity, her betrayal—everything she has done is for her grand ambition, an ambition you will never understand in this lifetime!"

"My demon race, from birth, has been regarded as playthings and materials by your human race. On the surface, we are citizens of the Yan Kingdom, but in reality, we are nothing more than dogs crawling on the ground, being bullied by others. You, Guan Hongyi, dare to pat your chest and tell me that you look down on me? Do you dare to swear to your father that you have never despised the demon race from childhood to adulthood? Lady Su Murong dares! She understands the principles I'm talking about, she understands the feelings of our demon race, and only her ambition can bring true peace to our demon race!"

"I have long ago sworn an oath to all the demon lords of the past, that all the demons in my clan will follow Lord Su Murong until death."

"She is a patriot, a great woman. Sooner or later, the entire Yan Kingdom, no! The entire world, will grovel at the feet of Lord Su Murong!"

"You don't understand her. You, Guan Hongyi, your family behind you, and those arrogant fools who only know how to confine themselves to the narrow imperial city—you will never understand her. You mock her age, label her, use righteousness to pressure her, calling her shameless, brazen, greedy, treacherous, and untrustworthy. Your understanding is far too superficial, far too superficial! The so-called great courage appears as timidity, and great wisdom as foolishness, is like a summer insect not understanding the cold of winter, or a frog in a well not understanding the vastness of the sky. You will never understand the greatness of Lord Su Murong in your entire lives!"

"But I also understand you. You petty people are scared. After the spiritual energy was depleted, all you wanted to do was consolidate your own interests. So when you realized you couldn't control Lord Su Murong, all you could do was slander, ridicule, and label him. But in fact, you are the sinners! You are the sinners of all living beings in the world, the sinners of this world! It is not Lord Su Murong who is hindering the world's progress, it is you, you shameless and despicable people!"

"Lady Su Murong is a god. Sooner or later, she will stand at the top of the world and bring true harmony to the world. I have always firmly believed this!"

"It is my honor to follow such a person and to die for such a figure. In fact, I took the initiative to propose this mission to Lord Su Murong because I was already prepared to die!"

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!"

"Come on, come on, let death come to me!"

“I will mock you from the underworld, mock your rigidity, mock your corruption.”

"Lord Su Murong, I'll be going now. I'll be waiting for your success in the underworld!!!"

Eagle in the sky became more and more excited as he spoke. He raised his hands high, his wings spread behind him, and a sky full of demonic energy broke through the shackles on his body and soared straight into the sky.

He crashed through the eaves and soared into the sky, his eyes reddening, concealing tears of excitement. Guan Hongyi looked up, feeling a chill run through his palms.

In fact, Guan Hongyi had already noticed that Su Murong had more and more admirers.

In fact, it wasn't just Ying Zaitian who was so fanatical in worshipping Su Murong; the vast majority of ordinary people, intellectuals, soldiers, farmers, and businessmen regarded Su Murong as an idol, and even followed her with their families.

Even in official circles and the royal family, many young people and radicals admired her achievements in driving out the barbarians, her pioneering spirit of creating talismans, and her magnanimity in knowing when to advance and when to retreat.

Even though she has rebelled now and killed the garrison commander of Nanzhong, many people still follow her in private. There are even fanatical believers who, after hearing that Su Murong raised the banner of "Loyal, Righteous, Divine, Martial, Spiritual, Benevolent, Courageous, Majestic, Manifesting Equality, Compassion for All Beings, Sincere, Pacifying, Supporting, Promoting Virtue, Demon Manifesting Holy True Lord" in Nanzhong, traveled thousands of miles to join her.

These people included veterans, intellectuals, gangsters, farmers, merchants, and even people from the North. They disguised themselves and hid along the way, disregarding the danger of being arrested by the authorities, all in order to seek refuge with her.

The Yan court launched a relentless propaganda campaign, accusing Su Murong of wrongdoing and employing harsh laws to severely punish those who defected to the south. Although this trend was suppressed, undercurrents continued to surge beneath the surface.

Eagle in the sky was one of them, so Guan Hongyi wasn't surprised by its behavior. She just hadn't expected that Su Murong's terrifying influence could even affect demons.

Not to mention, he was a demon emperor.

The demon race cultivates using demonic energy and is divided into Demon Kings, Demon Emperors, and Demon Venerables, corresponding to Earth Immortals, Heavenly Immortals, and True Immortals among human cultivators. Eagle in the Sky, no matter how powerful, was willing to submit to a weak twenty-year-old woman and even die for her.

Guan Hongyi, unbelievable.

"You beast, how dare you act so presumptuously in the capital?"

Seeing that Guan Hongyi's negotiations with Ying Zaitian had broken down, the celestial beings hiding in the shadows took action. The avatar was undoubtedly captured and killed on the spot, and the true body hiding in the shadows was also dragged out. Several celestial beings surrounded it and dealt it a fatal blow.

Guan Hongyi stared blankly at the eagle in the sky, watching it laugh wildly as it was annihilated by the immortals' deadly moves, unable to recover.

She couldn't understand why so many people would follow someone like Su Murong.

To be fair, many of her soldiers were willing to die for her, but the feeling was different. As for why it was different, Guan Hongyi couldn't explain it.

What is it about Su Murong that makes you all willing to die for her? It's just a popularity charm, is it really worth it?

With these questions in mind, she walked out of the inner city in a daze.

------------

"The terror of the Popularity Talisman lies in the fact that it completely created a system. Its creation means that immortals who rely on spiritual energy to cultivate immortality are no longer the only ones who can be high above others. In the original storyline, Su Murong made up for the shortcomings of the Popularity Talisman by using the effects of the Qi and Blood Pill to allow even mortals who are deficient in Qi and Blood to cultivate the Popularity Talisman."

After briefly calming Su Murong down, on the way back, the system brought up the events that had occurred in the original storyline again.

Yang Pingsheng nodded in agreement, then looked at the changing colors of the clouds on the distant horizon and asked, "Is that the direction of the capital? What happened?"

"What else could have happened? The Spirit Spring collapsed and disintegrated, right?" the system said. "It's about the same time as the predicted events. In the original storyline, Su Murong besieged the capital, just as the Spirit Spring disintegrated, causing the immortals' strength to plummet. She then took advantage of this and stormed into the imperial city."

The collapse and disintegration of the Spirit Spring was something no one could have imagined, whether in the original storyline or the current timeline. In the original storyline, due to heavy losses in the battle against the barbarians, Wang Tiande abandoned his army and fled, and simply betrayed them. Most of the other army generals also died, so when Su Murong led the demon alliance and the rebel army to attack, only Guan Hongyi was able to face her head-on.

Now, without Su Murong's popularity-boosting talisman, the battle of Beiluo River ended in a draw. Guan Yunpeng did not die, and the war between the barbarians and the Yan Kingdom turned into a protracted war. The various troops were used to the combat mode and did not suffer significant losses.

It was against this backdrop that the sacred spring collapsed and disintegrated.

This is what the system meant by "favorable timing." After all, whether the spiritual spring collapses or not is irrelevant to it. It just wants Yang Pingsheng to finish this task as soon as possible and then leave.

Back in his tent, Yang Pingsheng sat alone, lost in thought. The system, knowing he was feeling pity for Su Murong's current state, spoke up, "Speaking of which, aren't you curious about something? Didn't you notice the male protagonist wasn't there when you looked at the deduction?"

Only after the system reminded him did Yang Pingsheng realize the problem. He knew the system wouldn't bring this up for no reason, but he still went along with it and asked, "Where?"

"Heaven has hidden him because he is too shameful," the system said. "That's why I keep reminding you—Su Murong may be the weakest of the nine female villains, but she is definitely the one you should not underestimate."

"Why do you say that?"

"She turned the male lead against her."

"???"

Yang Pingsheng looked completely bewildered.

The system paused for a moment, seemingly considering how to speak. It remained silent for a full quarter of an hour, until Yang Pingsheng was getting bored, before it slowly spoke: "The male protagonist of this world and the female protagonist, Guan Hongyi, are childhood sweethearts."

"Hmm." Yang Pingsheng nodded. It was a common setup for the male and female leads, nothing surprising.

"The male protagonist's family has fallen on hard times, and he is engaged to the female protagonist. The female protagonist is determined to be with the male protagonist and does not care about his family's decline. She is determined to continue the engagement."

"Hmm." Yang Pingsheng nodded in agreement. It wasn't surprising that the male and female leads were familiar with the process.

"But the male protagonist refused, not wanting to burden the female protagonist, so he went off to roam the world alone. But when the barbarians invaded, he joined the female protagonist's army camp without hesitation and helped her devise strategies."

"Hmm." Yang Pingsheng nodded again. It wasn't surprising that the relationship between the male and female protagonists was heating up.

"Against this backdrop, the two grew closer and closer. In the end, Guan Yunpeng died, and Guan Hongyi took on the main role, but the male protagonist remained loyal and devoted."

"Ah."

"They faced many dangers together: foreign invasions, assassinations of colleagues, the emperor's suspicions, and conspiracies and schemes, but they both survived."

"Um……"

"The great victory at Beiluo River led to a celebration at the palace. That night, the male and female protagonists finally confirmed their feelings for each other. Guan Hongyi boldly expressed her love, and the male protagonist embraced her tightly. A heroine and a tender man, the two of them held each other under the moonlight."

"..."

"However," the system abruptly changed its tone, becoming urgent and speaking through gritted teeth, "this scene was witnessed by the female villain!"

"She understood Guan Hongyi's weakness and began to sexually engage with the male protagonist. The two often secretly met in places unknown to Guan Hongyi."

Yang Pingsheng rubbed his temples, his head aching; this turn of events had caught him somewhat off guard.